Parker and Sheaffer were in a constant struggle of innovation.
The Vacumatic was Parker's effort to get away from the tyranny of
the rubber sac, and they made much of it when it came out. As I
mention elsewhere,
this it not entirely true, but it does allow for a vast supply of ink
to be taken up, and if one makes a pen with a clear body, that supply
can be seen. The pen here is in fact transparent, despite some
ambering (originally, the brown bits would have been a very clear,
slightly greenish material).
The Vacumatic, when it came out in 1932, toppled the Duofold from its
throne atop Parker's heap, transforming it from a huge attention-getter to the more
restrained lines of the "Geometric".
By 1945, when this pen was made, the Vacumatic had itself been
pushed aside by the "51"
and had only a few years left to run. For all that, this is a
reasonably high-end example-- one can tell by the decorated cap band
and the blue diamond on the clip (a better picture here).
In use, this is a very nice pen indeed. It has less flex than one
might wish for-- apparently Canadian models had more give than U.S.
ones, this being the latter-- but it's dead smooth for such a fine
point. It is also an example of the joys of pen-hunting.
This pen was found in essentially the state seen above in a junk
shop, and it's hard to describe the steps of mood elevation as one
sees... is that what I think it is? Is it in anything like decent
shape? Is that the
price? A very good day indeed.
Specifications:
Extra-fine firm gold point. Vacumatic filler. 12.9cm
long capped, 15.1cm posted.
Condition: Very light wear
on body-- two scratches, both short and shallow. There is a hint
of brassing on the band, and what I can only call patination on the
clip-- the discolouration is in the depressions rather than the raised
bits. Update: I suspect that this is one of the wartime
items which used silver rather than brass as the background metal; a
lot of the apprehended brassing I'd noted has slowly disappeared
(nothing like as dramatically as in this case, but a similar
effect).
Repairs: Replaced diaphragm.
Location: My collection.
For sale?: Not this exact one, but I have one from the
first quarter of 1945 with essentially the same description but for a
slightly darker ambering and a slightly better band, which can be sold
for $70.00. Contact me at :
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